Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

If you've had the pleasure of watching Damien Chazelle's breakthrough feature Whiplash, you'll know it's a hard act it is to follow. But follow it he has with La La Land, an utterly beguiling 21st century musical set in the city of angels.

Having just landed 7 Golden Globes - including Best Screenplay and actress and actor awards for Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling - it's now been nominated for 11 Baftas...

Edith's guest this week is fast establishing a reputation as a filmmaker of wit, originality and imaginative flair. In his short career as a writer / director, John Michael McDonagh has brought us 3 features, all of which have been characterised by taut narrative, black comedy and whip-crack dialogue.

First up was The Guard, starring Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle, which is officially the most financially successful Irish independent movie of all time...

Edith's first guest of 2017 is Juan Antonio Bayona - or JA for short - which we hope you'll agree seems a most excellent way to start the New Year.

Since 2007, the Spanish director has made three critically acclaimed movies - all of which have had, in very different ways, children at the centre of the narrative.

First came his superior horror flick The Orphanage, followed by The Impossible, which is about a family caught up in the 2004 tsunami and was inspired by true events...

In days gone by, it might have been considered a backward step to go from adapting Shakespeare to adapting a video game. Not anymore – with this week’s guest Justin Kurzel having done just that.

Following his hugely well-received take on Macbeth, the Australian director has now turned his attention to Assassin’s Creed - a movie based on the video game franchise that has sold well over 100 million copies worldwide...

In cinematic terms, it may very well just be the greatest story ever told. With its ground-breaking special effects, unforgettable cast of characters and universal themes, the original Star Wars trilogy has inspired and delighted film goers ever since A New Hope blew everyone away in 1977.

Among those to have felt its force is Gareth Edwards - the man charged with directing the latest addition to the franchise, Rogue One...

Having earned an Oscar nomination for his short film Cashback in 2004, British director Sean Ellis has since caught the eye with a stylistic approach that is urgent, visceral, and intense. With the help of composers Guy Farley and Robin Foster, he's delivered soundscapes to match.

Following its run at the Oscar, Sean developed Cashback into a full-length feature before bringing us Anglo-French horror The Broken, both of which were scored by Guy...

You have to go a long way to find someone who doesn't like Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and the gang - or Alice of Wonderland fame, for that matter.

With this in mind, it's a great pleasure to welcome James Bobin into the Soundtracking family. Not only has James directed two Muppet movies and steered Alice on a recent outing through the Looking Glass, he's played a very significant hand in a couple more pop-cultural institutions too...

When you're invited to direct a movie adaptation involving one of the most-loved literary creations the world has ever known, you can be pretty certain you won't get a second chance if you mess it up.

Thankfully, that's not a fate that befell David Yates. Not only did David take charge of the last four Harry Potter films, he was also asked to make JK Rowling's official spin-off Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, which has been greeted with hugely positive reviews...

Routinely cited as one of the funniest movies of all-time, This Is Spinal Tap is much imitated, oft-quoted, and as fresh now as it was when it first appeared in 1984. If you haven't seen it, you must buy it immediately.

Directed by Rob Reiner, it takes the form of documentary following a shambolic heavy metal band as they tour North America. Though the band is, of course, fictional, their songs are very real, and very funny...

As subject matter goes, it doesn't get much more rock and roll than Joy Division, New Order, The Happy Mondays, Ian Dury, The Stone Roses, Coldplay and Oasis. But, in one way or another, all these artists have featured in the work of British director Mat Whitecross.

As we'll discover, Mat got his big break from Michael Winterbottom while working as a runner on the set 24 Hour Party People, which tells the story of Tony Wilson and Factory Records...